What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
From my personal standpoint, online learning is the one area that I haven't fully utilized as an educator. In my district we have introduced Moodle and created a few online classes for the teachers, but I feel we have only scratched the surface and need to move beyond that and begin using online learning with the students. According to a recent article from The Journal, titled, "Snapshot: Students Want Online Learning", by David Nagel, students are very interested in online learning because they are able to work at their own pace, it allows them to take classes not offered, and it allowed for more individualized instruction, and more one-one-one from teachers (Nagel 2010). Online learning would allow students to learn 24/7, allowing children to expand their learning outside the school day. I want this for my students. In the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology developed by TEA one initiative for Texas by 2020 is that, "Students can expect higher performance and deeper engagement in academic, real world endeavors by accessing digital tools and resources available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week (24/7) appropriate to individual strengths, needs, and learning styles (TEA, 2006)." This is so important to our students succeeding in the 21st century. Other benefits I would get from using online learning in the classroom, is the ease of having all of my students' assignments and materials in one organized space, allowing me to look at their growth and progress throughout the year in one place. This would eliminate the wasting of paper and would also eliminate lost assignments.
How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
I am going to ease myself into utilizing online learning with my students next school year, by using the online course I designed to satisfy the technology TEKS for the science courses I teach for fifth grade. I integrate technology with my students each nine weeks, but I have trouble managing what we do in class. I often have students forget to save assignments correctly, or I have to come to school to grade assignments because they are on the intranet at school. With the online course I created, I can have students work on assignments when it is convenient for them, and then have them turn them in through the drop box in Schoology. I can then access their work from home and grade it without having to go up to school. Also within Schoology, I can take a daily grade on a reflection that students write within the Schoology blog. From the blog, I can make sure students understand the science concepts we are discussing in class, and clear up any misconceptions they may have. I can see the Schoology course ware being beneficial to the students, as well as, myself.
Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
Online learning will play a major part in my roles as both a teacher and as a staff developer. I have returned to the classroom this year as a 5th grade science teacher, but my district still utilizes my strengths in technology to organize and train teachers in integrating technology in their classrooms. I can see Schoology easily fitting into both of these areas. In my fifth grade classroom, I will use online learning to weave technology seamlessly into my classroom, allowing students to access assignments from any computer, including their home computers. In my role as a staff developer, I will create online teacher trainings that will include video, discussions, and readings, similar to our Brighten courses. By having students and teachers participate in this type of platform, they will become participants in 21st century learning. Hopefully this will be the springboard for teachers to use it in their classrooms to introduce students all over the district to the benefits of using collaborative, online learning.
What questions do you still have about online learning?
I have a few technical questions regarding online learning, specifically with the Schoology course ware, that I am sure will become more clear as I utilize online learning in my classroom. The first question I have is how much storage space is each course section allotted? I think it would be ideal for my students to upload pictures, and projects in the drop box, and I am concerned with the amount of space the students would have, especially if I have 70 students uploading their work. The other question I have is regarding the blogs. I would like for each student to post what they have learned to their personal blog located in Schoology each week and respond to a classmates post. My question is, will students and parents be able to respond to blog posts in Schoology like you can in Blogger? Hopefully these questions will be cleared up as I begin using Schoology with my class.
What will you do with this new learning?
I am very excited about the endless possibilities associated with online learning in the classroom. Besides just using this new knowledge personally in my classroom and for my own staff developments, I feel it would also be very important to introduce Schoology at the next District Technology meeting. I will walk them through setting up a course, and show them what the assignments look like. I am also going to suggest at that meeting that we set-up email accounts for students of teachers interested in using this technology in their classrooms, to make it easier to initially set-up and get off the ground. Another suggestion that I will bring up, is using this at the campus level for staff developments and introducing principals to linking video and suggested reading topics to the course ware. Hopefully, by starting at the top, and making district technology leaders aware of new online course management systems, we will begin seeing online classes used throughout the district to introduce 24/7 21st century learning for our students.
From my personal standpoint, online learning is the one area that I haven't fully utilized as an educator. In my district we have introduced Moodle and created a few online classes for the teachers, but I feel we have only scratched the surface and need to move beyond that and begin using online learning with the students. According to a recent article from The Journal, titled, "Snapshot: Students Want Online Learning", by David Nagel, students are very interested in online learning because they are able to work at their own pace, it allows them to take classes not offered, and it allowed for more individualized instruction, and more one-one-one from teachers (Nagel 2010). Online learning would allow students to learn 24/7, allowing children to expand their learning outside the school day. I want this for my students. In the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology developed by TEA one initiative for Texas by 2020 is that, "Students can expect higher performance and deeper engagement in academic, real world endeavors by accessing digital tools and resources available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week (24/7) appropriate to individual strengths, needs, and learning styles (TEA, 2006)." This is so important to our students succeeding in the 21st century. Other benefits I would get from using online learning in the classroom, is the ease of having all of my students' assignments and materials in one organized space, allowing me to look at their growth and progress throughout the year in one place. This would eliminate the wasting of paper and would also eliminate lost assignments.
References
Nagel, D. (2010). Snapshot: students want online learning. The Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2010 from: http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/03/17/snapshot-students-want-online-learning.aspx?sc_lang=en.
TEA. (2006). Texas long-range plan for technology. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved May 16, 2010 from: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/LRPTCompleteDec06.pdf.
I am going to ease myself into utilizing online learning with my students next school year, by using the online course I designed to satisfy the technology TEKS for the science courses I teach for fifth grade. I integrate technology with my students each nine weeks, but I have trouble managing what we do in class. I often have students forget to save assignments correctly, or I have to come to school to grade assignments because they are on the intranet at school. With the online course I created, I can have students work on assignments when it is convenient for them, and then have them turn them in through the drop box in Schoology. I can then access their work from home and grade it without having to go up to school. Also within Schoology, I can take a daily grade on a reflection that students write within the Schoology blog. From the blog, I can make sure students understand the science concepts we are discussing in class, and clear up any misconceptions they may have. I can see the Schoology course ware being beneficial to the students, as well as, myself.
Online learning will play a major part in my roles as both a teacher and as a staff developer. I have returned to the classroom this year as a 5th grade science teacher, but my district still utilizes my strengths in technology to organize and train teachers in integrating technology in their classrooms. I can see Schoology easily fitting into both of these areas. In my fifth grade classroom, I will use online learning to weave technology seamlessly into my classroom, allowing students to access assignments from any computer, including their home computers. In my role as a staff developer, I will create online teacher trainings that will include video, discussions, and readings, similar to our Brighten courses. By having students and teachers participate in this type of platform, they will become participants in 21st century learning. Hopefully this will be the springboard for teachers to use it in their classrooms to introduce students all over the district to the benefits of using collaborative, online learning.
I have a few technical questions regarding online learning, specifically with the Schoology course ware, that I am sure will become more clear as I utilize online learning in my classroom. The first question I have is how much storage space is each course section allotted? I think it would be ideal for my students to upload pictures, and projects in the drop box, and I am concerned with the amount of space the students would have, especially if I have 70 students uploading their work. The other question I have is regarding the blogs. I would like for each student to post what they have learned to their personal blog located in Schoology each week and respond to a classmates post. My question is, will students and parents be able to respond to blog posts in Schoology like you can in Blogger? Hopefully these questions will be cleared up as I begin using Schoology with my class.
I am very excited about the endless possibilities associated with online learning in the classroom. Besides just using this new knowledge personally in my classroom and for my own staff developments, I feel it would also be very important to introduce Schoology at the next District Technology meeting. I will walk them through setting up a course, and show them what the assignments look like. I am also going to suggest at that meeting that we set-up email accounts for students of teachers interested in using this technology in their classrooms, to make it easier to initially set-up and get off the ground. Another suggestion that I will bring up, is using this at the campus level for staff developments and introducing principals to linking video and suggested reading topics to the course ware. Hopefully, by starting at the top, and making district technology leaders aware of new online course management systems, we will begin seeing online classes used throughout the district to introduce 24/7 21st century learning for our students.